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Argentina
Demographics Capital: Buenos Aires Language: The official language is Spanish, although it differs in pronunciation and grammar from Castilian Spanish. Additionally, English, French, German and Italian are spoken by the relevant minorities. The three AmerIndian languages that remain are Tehuelche, Guarani and Quechua. Government Argentina's political framework is a federal presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of The Argentine Nation is both head of state and head of government. Currently, the only legal party is the Peronist Partido Justicialista. Modern History On February 24, 1946 Juan Domingo Perón, founder of the Partido Justicialista won the presidential elections in Argentina. Perón pursued social policies aimed at empowering the working class. He greatly expanded the number of unionized workers, and helped establish the powerful General Confederation of Labour (CGT), created in 1930. He called this the "third position", between capitalism and communism. Perón also pushed hard to industrialize the country; in 1947 he announced the first five-year plan to boost newly nationalized industries. Over the course of his rule, political liberties were slowly eroded in Argentina. His extremely popular wife, Evita, served as her husband's Vice-President and "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" in his military-backed regime. Things progressed quite well for the nation for a number of years, enjoying a strong economy and relatively healthy relations with its neighbours. Argentina also enjoyed strong ties with the right leaning European nations, particularly with Spain and Portugal (and the subsequent Iberian state). The Perons intervened in the internal politics afflicting Urugay in the early 1970s, sending the Argentine military to assist the fight against Raúl Sendic's leftist MLN. Uruguayan President Juan María Bordaberry was extremely close to the Perons and esentially remained in power at their decree. Argentine success gave a tremendous boost of power to Peron's reign, positing himself as a liberator from the perilous Communists. Discussions commenced in 1973 regarding a possible integration between the two countries, and Uruguay officially became a region of Argentina in January 1975. Juan Peron died in July 1975, aged 79, and his wife assumed his role as President with strong support from both the public and the military. She inherited her husband's policies and his success, and ran the nation in relative harmony for over a decade (helped by the continuing cult of personality built around her, and the convenient disappearence of dissidents). The political climate took a sharp turn in the late 1980s when Peron suddenly fired her immediate cabinet and advisors and sought to bring in a newer, younger team behind her. Her reforms started to turn to the Armed Forces which, needless to say, did not sit too well with the military heirarchy that propped up her regime. The military reforms were subsequently dropped. Seeking a desperate boost in popularity (similar to that received by her husband in the Uruguayan conflict of the 70s), Evita ordered the invasion of the Malvinas/Falklands in December 1989. Argentina's very own Dama de Hierro sought to maintain power by diverting public attention from the somewhat undesirable economic siuation by playing off long-standing feelings of the Argentines towards the islands. An Argentine flag was raised on South Georgia Island on 14th December 1989 by a group of hired Argentinian scrap metal merchants and an official invasion was scheduled for 22nd December. However, the 70 year old President Duarte de Peron died of a heart attack at the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires on Christmas Day of the same year. It was popular belief that the son of Juan and Evita Peron, also called Juan (b. July 26, 1958) served as his mother's Vice-President), would assume the Presidency but after 40-plus years of a Peron dynasty - there is growing unrest within the military and some signs are indicating that Army chiefs may be looking elsewhere. The lack of leadership, an impending war with the United Kingdom and a shaky economy leaves Argentina in a perilous state entering the 1990s.